A review by kalkie
Bridget Jones's Diary: The First Columns by Helen Fielding
3.0
This is a strange little book. It is a collection of the very first "Bridget Jones" columns that appeared in The Independent and as such comes before both "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", both of which I have read and enjoyed - and, of course, comes before the film version of the original diary book.
However, reading these columns is almost like reading the "Bridget Jones's Diary" film script. It is clear that a lot of the film's contents (Mark Darcy aside) came from these original columns, with very little tweaking involved. Being a huge fan of the film, this did ruin it for me a little bit.
The writing is a bit "iffy" in places, and it's clear to see that this is one of Fielding's first writing projects - the books are much better! In places there are glaring inconsistencies and errors in the text, and it is now a bit dated as it constantly refers to "current events" that are no longer current! However, it is still a very funny collection of writings, and well worth a read for any Bridget Jones fan. "
However, reading these columns is almost like reading the "Bridget Jones's Diary" film script. It is clear that a lot of the film's contents (Mark Darcy aside) came from these original columns, with very little tweaking involved. Being a huge fan of the film, this did ruin it for me a little bit.
The writing is a bit "iffy" in places, and it's clear to see that this is one of Fielding's first writing projects - the books are much better! In places there are glaring inconsistencies and errors in the text, and it is now a bit dated as it constantly refers to "current events" that are no longer current! However, it is still a very funny collection of writings, and well worth a read for any Bridget Jones fan. "